Jackson County, Missouri - Chapter 9: First County Buildings, 1920

Specifications Of Court House, Jail

In the November term, 1827, the following order was made by the court: Ordered that the court do now proceed to the appointment of a superintendent of the public buildings of the county. Whereupon the court appointed Lilburn W. Boggs, superintendent of the public buildings and he was duly sworn according to law.

On motion of the president, that there be a temporary court house built in the town of Independence, it was ordered that the superintendent of the public buildings be directed to cause same to be erected on the northwest corner of Lot 59 in the town of Independence, a hewed log house, 36 feet in the clear in length by 18 feet in the clear in the width with a partition of hewed logs so as to leave the large room 22 feet by 18 and the small 18 x 14 one good story high, say nine feet between the joists and floor, roof to be of rafters and three feet boards, with a brick chimney, built so as to have a fire place in each room, with a rock founda¬ tion, with good puncheon floor below and a loft covered with plank and a sufficient number of hewed joists to each room. The foundation of the house to be laid on strong pillars, with a sufficient number of doors and windows, say one door to the large room and one through the parti¬ tion, cracks chinked with seasoned short chinking and pointed outsid^e and inside with lime mortar, with two twelve light windows in the large room and one in the small room.

nut plank, well seasoned, planed and neatly and strongly made. The door casings and window casings all to be of well seasoned walnut plank and window shutters to each window, and the superintendent is author¬ ized to supply any deficiency in the plan so as to make the building com¬ plete and fit for use, and make any alteration that will tend to lessen the expense to the county, and it is further ordered that the sum of $175.00 be appropriated to pay for the said building out of any money in the treasury arising from the sale of the lots in Independence.

The people in those days must have been a great deal more prompt in paying their taxes, than those of us now living here, witness the fol¬ lowing statement made by the collector for the year 1827.

The collector this day came forward and made a settlement with the court for all monies accruing to the county and him collected and pre¬ sented the following account.

The superintendent of the public buildings made the following re¬ port, which was read and ordered to be entered and the accompanying papers filed and No. 8 entered.

To the Honorable, the Justice of the Public Buildings for the County of Jackson, report that in pursuance of an order of said court on 3rd Sept., 1827, advertisements were published for receiving proposals, for building a temporary court house in the town of Independence, on the northwest corner of Lot No. 59, in said town. Agreeably to the said advertisement, proposals were received until the 18th day of September last, on which day they were opened.

The accompanying document No. 8 will show what the proposals were and whose proposition was accepted. The several proposals are re¬ tained and are enclosed in the said document No. 8 for reference. The court will discover by the said papers that Sam'l P. Lewis became the undertaker to build the said house for the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars.

The work has progressed with as much expedition as the season would admit. The superintendent has the satisfaction to state that the work as far as it has progressed has been executed in a workmanlike manner, the balance of the work will be completed as soon as the weather will permit. In pursuance of a subsequent order of court the sum of forty dollars being the first payment for said building has been drawn from the county treasury and paid to the order of the undertaker. The advertise¬ ment with the bond annexed and likewise presented to the court for their inspection together with all the papers relating to the said building, in order that the court may make such disposition of them as they may think proper.

The following are the proposals for building a temporary court house in the town of Independence, in the County of Jackson, in pursuance of an order of the county court made at the special term, on 3rd Sept. 1827.

Daniel P. Lewis being the lowest proposed and his security accepted the contract for the said building was made with him, whereupon the said Lewis entered into bond and security as required by law.

From the record it appears that grand jurors did not have much work to do to investigate all the acts of lawlessness taking place in Jackson County, as will appear from the following account presented for work done by the sheriff in the while in the discharge of his duty.

The superintendent of the public buildings of the county presents to the court the following plan of the permanent court house and jail for the county, together with the probable cost of erecting the same, to-wit: To the Honorable, the County Court of Jackson County.

The superintendent of the public buildings of said county has the honor known to lay before the Honorable, the County Court, the following plan, and estimate of the probable expense of erecting the court house and jail for said county, to-wit:

The court house to be of brick on a stone foundation, two stories high, the lower story 12 feet in heighth above the stone foundation and the upper story 10 feet in heighth, the building to be 40 feet in length by 30 in width. The walls of the lower story to be two brick thick or 13 inches, the gable ends to be one brick thick. Two double chimneys in the east end of the building with fire places above and below. Two single chimneys in the west end of the building, one fire place below in each, the chimney jambs to be 18 inches thick and seven feet in width, the chim¬ neys to extend the usual heighth above the comb of the roof, the flues to be separate to the top, the lower fire places to be large enough to admit a four foot stick and the upper fire places large enough to admit a four foot stick of wood.

Spaces are to be left in the walls for 12-24 light windows in the lower story of 10 x 12 glass, and the same number in the upper story of 18 light windows of 10 by 12 glass and for two large folding doors in the lower story in each front of the building in the center.

The stone foundation wall to be let in the ground 18 inches and to extend 18 inches above the surface of the ground and two feet thick, the part which extends above the surface must be neatly faced on the outside and pointed with lime mortar.

Roof of building to be of rafters 20 feet long, four inches by five, and covered with sheeting plank and good oak or walnut shingles. The rafters to be supported by sufficient studding of scantling, four inches by five. Two hewed sills, 12 inches by nine, and 40 feet long, to extend across the building from east to west and 15 feet apart, each end of the said sills to rest on the stone foundation and supported at intervals of 10 feet by stone pillars. The sleepers are to be of oak logs with one side hewed to rest on the stone foundation at' one end and on the sills at the other and two feet apart from center to center of each sleeper. The sill and sleepers are to be so put in that when the floor is laid it will not extend onto the thickness of the plank above the stone foundation. The lowei floor to be neatly laid, of good one and a quarter inch oak or wal¬ nut, plank planed and dressed and tongued and grooved and points broke. Two plates each 40 feet long by 12 inches by nine to extend across the building from the east to west on the first story parallel with the lower sills to rest on the brick wall at each end and supported at intervals of 10 feet by turned pillars of wood, the pillars to square one foot and to be 13 feet long and made into the sills below and the plates above, it will require six of those turned pillars, a space is to be left between the before mentioned plates on the first story when there is to be no joice put which space will extend from the center of the building to the west end of the same. The joice for the first story are to be of scantling nine inches by three. The joice for the upper story are to be of scantling nine inches by four and 32 feet long, to extend across the top of the building from north to south and to project over the brick wall one foot at each end for the foot of the rafters to rest on the eaves of the roof to be boxed and plain cornice to be put on and barge boards put along the gable ends. All the doors and the windows to be neatly cased and faced inside and out with single ''archetrive'' the facing to be at least six inches wide sash and glass neatly put in a translight of sash and glass over each of the front doors. A plank partition to extend across the lower room from north to south commencing at 12 feet along the east end of the room and a counter partition 12 feet in length so as to divide said room into two equal parts for jury room with door through the main partition leading into each room with good baton door shutters to each.

The jail is to be built of square hewn timber to square one foot the building to be 20 feet square on the outside and 16 feet high above the top of the stone foundation, so as to form two stories each seven feet in clear or thereabout, the walls of the upper story to be single and the walls of the lower story or dungeon to be double, with a space of one foot left between the outside of the inner wall and the inside of the outer wall, which space is to be filled up with square bolts of split timber, round pealed, poles, placed upright or with loose rock beat into small pieces. The foundation wall to be of stone three feet thick and let in the earth two feet and to extend above the surface six inches, the part which ex¬ tends above the surface to be faced and pointed with lime mortar on the outside, the logs for the outside wall to be 20 feet in length and the logs for the inner wall to be 16 feet in length, the lower, middle and upper floors to be laid of square hewed timber the same as used for the body of the building. All the floors to be rabbitted into the outside wall on the inside of the same, so as not to show on the outside. The middle floor to be covered with strong oak plank jointed and well nailed down, a trap door to be left in the center of the middle floor and shutter made strong with necessary fastening. The roof to be of rafters and covered with lathing and good oak or walnut shingles, the gable ends studded and weather boarded, and large boards along the gable ends. One window in the lower room and two in the upper room, the windows to be one foot in heighth and 18 inches in length w'ell secured by strong iron bars or grates. One door in the upper story with two strong door shutters. One to open on the inside and one on the outside of the building and hav¬ ing good strong iron hinges. A pair of coarse rough steps and platform on the outside to lead up to the upper room. The building to be raised with a half dovetail and notched down close, so that there will be no cracks between the logs. All the work to be done in a strong and work¬ manlike manner.

It is therefore ordered by the court that the superintendent be directed to issue advertisement for receiving proposals to erect the before mentioned buildings, and that the following sums be and are hereby appropriated for that purpose, to-wit:

All the town property belonging to the county including the present temporary court house and lot 1, with the exception of such lots as are reserved for public uses, the whole valued at - 880.00

And it is further ordered that the superintendent be authorized to make any alterations in the plans of said buildings that will tend to the interest of the county and to lessen the expense which he may deem ad¬ visable. And that the clerk furnish the superintendent with a copy of the foregoing order.